Holy Bejesus, finally, we get to Him

I warn you, the fit is about to hit the shan,and it's gunna be...weird.

The moon was bright enough through the tree tops that I could see, not that it gave much comfort as I ran. Every twitch of movement in the brush was some monster, every sound the call of beasts set on devouring me. The world was tipping slowly, and I figured it was from the blood loss, as I still held tight to my ravaged throat. The pain, however, kept me focused and I managed to stay upright.

Trembling and exhausted, I finally let my pace slow, taking time to look around me. Christ I was lost. Would it matter? If Isaac was unable to subdue the raging Josep, it wouldn't matter where I was. Even If I'd been able to find our car, he could tear the door from it's hinges and drain me. But he wasn't the only monster in these woods was he?

it's one of the few places left that humans should completely avoid.

Ryan's words made me pause, twisting around to look in every direction. This was a sacred wood, he'd told me. The wood of the Fae.

And there was my next fear.

I'd read enough old stories and lore to know that fairies weren't cute little Tinker Bell things with sparkly wings and bright smiles. Hell, I'd read Peter Pan, and even Tinker Bell had tried to kill Wendy. Fairies were vicious and cruel and wicked. They delighted in the corruption and suffering of man. They devoured the souls of children and lured mortals into the forest to be eaten or toyed with until death. As fascinating as they seemed from afar, I was in no hurry to meet one by myself. Especially not when blood loss had already made me weak.

A rustling in the bushes to my left made me freeze. While I hoped it was nothing of supernatural origin, I also knew it could just as easily be an animal. Like a bear, or a wolf, or something else that might have no problems mauling me. I spun toward the sound and backed away, stumbling over a root that seemed to have sprung from nowhere and fell on my ass. When I tried to get back on my feet , I found that the root had snared my ankle. Cursing, I pulled at it, but, before my very eyes, it tightened into the ground, shackling me in place.

A warm breeze stirred the leaves around me, carrying with it the scent of turned earth and rain. My eyes fixed on the bushes, but a branch above them snapped and I cried out.

There was someone in the tree.

My thoughts went to Josep, and I tried again to rip away the living root with no avail. I could see him, crouched like a panther, looking down at me, half hidden in shadow. For a moment, I couldn't breathe for fear, and the world once again began to spin. Just as I thought I would pass out, he jumped to the ground, landing without a sound, and my vision snapped into clear focus. Not Josep. Suddenly, I couldn't look away.

He was like looking into the sun. Painful in his beauty. While I knew I should be terrified, I couldn't summon the fear. His skin was almost golden, seeming to glow as if he were bathed in the light of a fallen star. His features were strong and rugged, his jaw dusted with stubble.

The warm breeze stirred the dark hair that hung wild to his collar. Brown was too plane a description for its color. More like chocolate and gold and copper and a thousand other shades I couldn't identify. When he stood, uncoiling from his crouched position like a snake, the lean muscle of his powerful arms rippled, sending a flutter through my gut.

My god, but he was utterly perfect! Isaac and the vampires were beautiful. They had to be in order to lure in their prey, but this man, this creature (because he couldn't possibly be human) was like nothing I'd ever seen.

For a long moment, there was only silence as the wind died down and he stepped closer, still a good 3 yards away. I don't think I could have spoken if I wanted to. My voice was lodged in my throat, my jaw hanging slightly open. Distantly I remembered that I had been injured, that I was very likely bleeding to death, but for some reason this didn't seem to matter. The creature moved with the fluid grace I'd seen Isaac use, stopping again when he was only a yard away.

A tiny gasp escaped my lips as I looked into his face, finding myself frozen. His eyes were green, but impossibly so, the color of anti-freeze and marked with darker green striations. As I gazed into them, the world fell away. There was no doubt I would have lost myself in them had he not spoken.

"These are sacred woods you trespass in, little human," his voice was every bit as breath-taking as the rest of him. Deep and warm, like the rumble of a coming storm. Again, my stomach tried to flip into itself, and a shudder passed down my spine.

He must be Fae, I thought, I had never imagined they would be so...but with that thought, finally, came a sickening curl of fear.

"I didn't mean to...Isaac dragged...I mean, oh god, please forgive me."

He titled his head slightly to the side and watched me with an unreadable expression. Almost like curiosity. Would he kill me now? Eat me? Force me to dance away the rest of my life?

"Oh god." my voice broke as my eyes blurred with tears. "I'm sorry. I was forced to come here with-"

"What do they call you?" He interrupted, moving closer again. Involuntarily, I pulled away, but the root around my ankle tightened until I cried out in pain. I clamped my teeth together to stop the sound. He either didn't notice, or didn't care. Those eerie, absinthe-colored eyes moved over me almost like a child's. Openly curious. He studied me as if he'd never seen anything like me, but that couldn't be. He'd called me little human. He must know.

"You smell of spoiled earth," he said, right in front of me now. I trembled as he crouched down, level with me and searched my face with a frown. "Of dead things."

"I don't mean to." I squeaked, not knowing how else to respond. This close, I could smell him, and it was making me dizzy. He was dark, and rich, and earthy, laced with a masculine spice and the ozone-scent of rain. I could taste him in the air and it was making my mouth water.

I imagined dragging my nails down the corded muscle of his arms. Of drawing my lips across his golden shoulder and toward his own wickedly curved mouth. Would he taste as splendid as he smelled? As he looked? My thoughts were dazed and sluggish now. Vaguely I realized that this was strange, that thought like these were not normal, but I didn't care.

Suddenly, his expression changed. I forgot to breathe as his lips curled into a slight smile, devilish and beautiful, and he titled his head again. The moonlight shimmered across his eyes as he leaned toward me, making them seem to glow like his skin. His gaze flicked down to my lips then back to my own wide eyes and his wicked smile grew a tick. I was frozen in place, utterly helpless and terrified and entranced all at once. The creature paused only a moment, letting me draw a shaking breath, then leaned in and brushed his lips against mine.

As when I'd looked into his eyes, the world seemed to fall away. It lasted only a second, but somehow that was the most thrilling kiss I had ever received. The Fae man pulled back to search my expression, still very close. His scent was all I could smell, filling ever breath. I felt a blush warm my checks, like I'd stepped back into grade school. It was my first kiss all over again.

Unable to hold his frighteningly intense gaze, I stared instead at his clothes, which I hadn't noticed until now. They were all leather, I knew, but nothing from any department store. Soft and brown, they looked handmade; stitched together and laced with intricate scrollwork from his sleeveless vest to his fitted pants. He wore boots of the same design, that reached his knees, but were darker than the rest of his clothes.

He was like something out of a medieval fairytale.

"Why..." I had to swallow before my words had volume. (He'd left me breathless) "Why did you kiss me?" It was hard to meet his eyes again, but I forced myself to be strong. This was all just too strange.

"Would you like me to do it again?"

My mouth bobbed a few times, and he titled his head to regard me. (his inquisitive expression I was realizing) His attention moved from my lips to my eyes and back again patiently.

"I...um," I sighed, "Ok."

This time, his kiss was not a whisper. The tapered fingers of his right hand brushed warmly down my cheek and when his lips met mine I actually moaned. He tasted like dried apricots; sweet and delicious. I was loosing myself in him. Falling away piece by piece in a blissful moment I wished would never end. As long as he never stopped touching me.

Something tickled at the back of my mind. cold and unpleasant. I tired to block it out, but it seemed to be growning stronger. Then came pain, like needles wriggling about in my brain. The sensation was far away at first, blurred, but it slowly grew like the cold and I hissed in a breath. The Fae pulled back, frowning and I tired to make sense of what I was happening around me. Failing. His presence alone blurred my logic.

"Please." the words seemed to form themselves, breathy and tense, "Don't stop touching me."

His smile then was dark, but alluring and he leaned toward me again. He had to keep going. Had to-

"No!" The yell seemed to come from under water. The Fae's attention snapped to our left, drawing mine to the black-eyed vampire 10 feet away. I frowned a moment before I realized that I knew him. Not from these woods though. My world began and ended in the Fae's arms. And now he was standing; moving away from me. He was too far away from me!

"Mira, you need to listen to me," the vampire spoke very calmly, like the babble of a spring. Such a funny name, Mira. I wondered who it belonged to. I felt his voice dance across my skin, severing a cord and the warmth melted away. "It's time to wake up now."

I blinked a few times, then shook my head, the hot fingers that had been clutching my brain slid away, throwing the world back into cold frightening reality.

Please. Don't stop touching me.

Had I really just fucking said that?!

Isaac moved slowly to my side as the Fae watched him. His expression had gone from enchanting to hostile in a second. For the first time, I noticed its teeth were sharp, like some sort of wolf. Had they been like that the whole time? I couldn't remember.

"How many of your kind will desecrate my forest?" he asked. His voice was now the angry crash of ocean waves against the rocks. Powerful and terrifying. "You have no right to be here, vampire." he spoke the word like a curse, his bright green eyes flashing dangerously.

Isaac bowed his head, and glanced my way. "I meant no disrespect, Cernnunos." At what I assumed was his name, the Fae straitened, gazing steadily at us. "We have come to collect a fugitive of my people. He fled to your domain believing we would not follow. My only wish is to take him back to our council."

The Fae said nothing but his eyes slid to me and I caught the hint of a smile. Frightened that he would do to me what he had before, I crawled backwards. He chuckled, watching me twist my way out of the root he must have loosened and scamper back to Isaac. I don't think I have or ever will be as relieved to see the vampire as I was just then.

"Please, great lord, will you grant us safe passage back to your border?"

"No."

Isaac actually seemed stunned. I stood behind him, shaking, clutching at the back of his shirt like a life-preserver. "But...great lord-"

"The girl," the Fae interrupted, catching my eyes again, "She is your human?"

Isaac's hand slipped back to grasp my wrist as I starred, wide-eyed at the creature.

"Give her to me and you may leave this wood unharmed."

Isaac caught me when my knees buckled. His patchwork eyes had shot wide as mine now.

"You can't be serious." I said in shock. Beside me, Isaac cleared his throat, holding me tight.

"He really can." he said.

The creature's eyes slid between Isaac and me, glowing dimly under the light of the moon. I wanted to climb onto the vampire's back and tell him to run, but something told me this thing could catch us. And the result would be unpleasant.

"Of all the mortal girl's in this world, she is the most trying, great king."

What was with all these ass-kissing names? Was Isaac really that worried about this fairy? Surely a vampire could at least match a Fae in power. Right? Then again, I just didn't want to think that there were creatures in this world more frightening then vampires. If my eyes grew any more open, I might start hiding away in my room.

"Is there no other tribute I could offer you?" Isaac asked gently.

The Fae was now completely focused on me and I could feel the soothing brush of his power across the edges of my mind. He wanted back in, but I was fighting to build a wall. There was no way in hell I would let him turn me back into the drooling idiot again.

"I will take the girl, vampire."

"You can't Isaac!" I insisted, shaking in fear.

"Shut up, Mira." he hissed back. "You got yourself into this mess." I couldn't even begin to argue how much that was bullshit.

The Fae seemed to be ignoring us. Well, Isaac at least. His eyes moved over me as if he were inspecting an exotic beast at the zoo. Fascinated by the animal behind the bars.

"Is there any way we could negotiate this trade?" Isaac asked suddenly, making me stiffen. He wouldn't...I wasn't foolish enough to think Isaac actually cared for me, but to him I was property. Something to be coveted and kept from all others. Surely he wouldn't toss me away so easily after all he'd done to keep me.

The Fae titled his head, "You are attached to this human?"

It took him a moment, but Isaac nodded. "She was a prize."

"You slaughtered her dear ones." The Fae finished for him with a quick glance at the vampire. I felt my expression harden at his bluntness and chest chest tighten in a new wave of panic. How could he possibly know that? Unless he read minds or saw things as Linda had. Then again, if he were in my mind, I would know it, right? The feeling was distinct, like pressure or worms in my brain.

Was he just that powerful?

"I did." Isaac was saying.

"Yet you allowed this one to live. Why?"

Isaac stiffened a bit, then with a heavy sigh he nodded. "Because she was intriguing. Mira is..."

"Curious." the Fae murmured, yet I heard the word as if he'd whispered it in my ear. Once again, I felt the warmth of his power wrap itself around me. Fighting to break through my defenses and lull me back into the stupor he had before. I tensed, fighting the urge to succumb to his call. He was comfort and security, but I remembered my earlier words-Don't stop touching me-and it was enough to stay strong. No way would I go back to that. He seemed to feel my rejection, but it only made him smile, eyes flashing with promise. I think he was taking it as a challenge.

"You will remain in my wood this night, vampire." he said, turning his attention, thankfully back to Isaac. "Restraints will be provided for your criminal as well as food. Even from here I feel his destructive hunger. And she," I jumped, "will be returned to you by daybreak. I will decided then what is to be done with her."

I stepped around to look Isaac dead in the eyes, trying to convey the utter badness of this plan. He held my gaze, and in the black depths of his eyes, I found only fury. Then, with only a nod to the Fae, he turned and began to leave.

"Wait, Isaac!" I dashed after him, already deep in the trees, and grabbed his arm. His growl was deep and resonating, making me jump back a step in fright. My sickening fear however swallowed the startlement that came with his anger.

"Don't leave me alone with him. " I pleaded softly, fearing the Fae could hear me. "Please."

"This is your mess, you foolish girl." I got the feeling he'd wanted to call me much worse, but was censoring himself for the Fae.

"I know. "I whimpered, "but...I've read the Brothers Grimm, and fairies aren't nice to girls."

Isaac laughed, short and harsh, then shook his head. "Even if I wanted to..." he let it hang, reaching out to turn me around. I couldn't see the creature from here. Was he hiding?

"Looks like you just won yourself a date, love." he chuckled, "And just so you know, Cernunnos isn't Fae." I frowned as he kissed my temple.

"He's a God."

Dun dun duuunnnnn!

If any of you are familiar with mythology, Cernunnos is very real (and my favorite Deity besides Loki) He is also known as Herne the Hunter, Concidius or, for you pagans like my mother, The Green Man. This is my favorite of his forms. (and in case you wondered the name is pronounced 'Sir-Nun-Ose')

If you aren't as nerdy and into lore as me, he will be explained as Mira learns, until then, what did you think of the totally weird, over-sexed first meeting? ZOMG, I was excited. lol

I definitely need some feedback for this one before I post the next chapter guys. What did you think?